Perjury Charge Dropped Against State Trooper Who Arrested Sandra Bland

The police officer who arrested motorist Sandra Bland was acquitted of a perjury chargethis past Wednesday. According to reports, this was the only charge the former officer faced in the case. Former officer Brian Encinia pulled over Sandra Bland in July 2015 for a “routine traffic stop” in Houston. However, his account of the arrest of Sandra Bland was not verified which led to him being charged with perjury and standing before a grand jury. 28-year-old Sandra Bland was on her way to begin a new job at Prairie View A&M University when the officer pulled her over for not using her turn signal. Upon the two exchanging words, the conversation got tense and found the officer pulling out a taser and threatening the young woman with it. He ended up arresting Bland for allegedly assaulting a public servant. Three days later, Bland was found dead in her jail cell.

Encinia’s perjury charge was dismissed because of an agreement he had with prosecutors. The agreement was signed by the judge, prosecutors, and Encinia himself. It stated that Encinia agreed to resign from being a police officer in exchange for the perjury charge being dropped. Encinia had to permanently surrender his state-issued license to be a law enforcement officer. According to the NY Times, the man agreed he would “never seek, accept or engage in employment in any capacity with law enforcement.”

Source: nytimes.com